The Sennheiser HD 800 S are top-of-the-line audiophile headphones. They feature an open-back design, with 56mm Ring Radiator dynamic drivers that deliver a satisfyingly neutral and reference-grade sound. Even though they're quite large, their fit is comfortable enough for long listening sessions. That said, you'll want to consider using a good amp and DAC to get the most out of them, which can be an added cost on top of the high price tag of these cans.
Our Verdict
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are poor for sports and fitness. They're large and only stable enough for seated listening sessions, which is their intended use. The high impedance connection needs an amp to drive the cans, and the cable makes them impractical for exercise.
- Comfortable fit.
- Don't block out background noise, by design.
- Bulky design.
- Not very stable with moderate movement.
The Sennheiser HD800S are a poor choice for travel. They're bulky, open-back headphones. As a result, your audio leaks into the vehicle for all to hear. They also don't block out any environmental noise. Their cable and high impedance are also inconvenient for connectivity. While they're comfortable, they're also large and will get in the way.
- Sturdy, durable build quality.
- Comfortable fit.
- Don't block out background noise, by design.
- Bulky design.
- Leak audio, by design.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are bad for office work. Its open-back design lets in background noise and keystrokes while also leaking audio into the environment. The headphones also lack a mic, so you'll need an outboard microphone for work calls. They also need an amp to power them adequately. That said, they're comfortable, and if your office has a door, they might work better if you're the workplace's resident audiophile.
- Sturdy, durable build quality.
- Comfortable fit.
- Don't block out background noise, by design.
- Leak audio, by design.
Needs an outboard microphone for chat.
The Sennheiser HD800S are wired-only headphones and can't be used for wireless gaming.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are decent for wired gaming. Their tuning is balanced with an immersive sound with a stable stereo image that allows you to pick out the location of enemies. They're comfortable to wear as well. That said, they need an amp to power them with most devices and they lack a microphone, so you'll need to provide an outboard one for playing with others.
- Sturdy, durable build quality.
- Comfortable fit.
- Don't block out background noise, by design.
Needs an outboard microphone for chat.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are great for audio reproduction accuracy. They sound consistent between wears and even if you wear glasses or have long hair, so what you hear is more or less the same each time. Their balanced tuning complies well with our target for a full and clear sound, though, as open-backs, they don't reproduce deep bass frequencies with a lot of emphasis. The drivers are well-matched overall for a stable stereo field, and their group delay ensures a tight and transparent response. Plus, their design interacts with your ears' pinnae similarly to an angled reference speaker. The low harmonic distortion means your audio sounds clean, too.
The Sennheiser HD800S have bad noise isolation performance, which is expected for open-backs. They both let in external sounds in your environment so you'll hear them, and allow your audio to escape into the space for others to hear.
The Sennheiser HD800S don't include a microphone.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are impressive when it comes to frequency response consistency. While there'll be some minor deviations in the frequency response in the low-bass range, if you have long hair or wear glasses, you'll mostly experience consistent audio delivery regardless of your physical characteristics. Our frequency response measurements will, therefore, be indicative of most people's experience.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Apr 25, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.
- Updated Apr 25, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0, which updates our sound tests and adds performance usages. You can read more about this in our changelog.
- Updated Sep 12, 2024: The following test groups have been updated following Test Bench 1.8: Sound Profile, Raw Frequency Response, Mid-range Profile: Target Compliance, Peaks/Dips. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the product comparisons to match these results.
- Updated Sep 12, 2024: We've updated the Differences Between Sizes And Variants and Wired Connection sections to acknowledge that later models include a different cable than our unit.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
While there's one variant of the Sennheiser HD 800 S, 'Black,' the manufacturer quietly made at least one change since our unit was purchased. Our unit includes a cable terminating in a balanced four-pin XLR cable, but models produced roughly from 2021 onwards include a balanced 4.4 jack instead. If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Sennheiser HD800S have outstanding, reference-quality audio reproduction that puts them in a league of their own. Their evenly balanced sound caters well to most tracks and music genres, especially compared to their retuned sibling, the Drop + Sennheiser HD 8XX. While their dynamic drivers may not reproduce as much low-bass as planar magnetics like the HiFiMan Edition XS, they can create an outstanding passive soundstage for an immersive, natural, and out-of-head audio experience. However, they're quite pricey, which can put them out of reach for most people, and you'll want to consider using an amp to help drive them to their full potential.
See our recommendations for the best studio headphones, the best open-back headphones, the best headphones for music, and the best DJ headphones.
Both the Sennheiser HD 800 S and Focal Clear Mg are premium open-backs geared at audiophiles. While both headphones are very comfortable, the Sennheiser have a more immersive sound and a more breathable design. However, the Focal have a better build quality and a warmer treble, if that's your preference.
Both the HiFiMan Arya and the Sennheiser HD 800 S are audiophile headphones for close listening, but you may like one over the other, depending on your preferences. The HiFiMan have a planar magnetic transducers and can deliver consistent bass and treble. However, the Sennheiser are also well-suited for mixing due their balanced, clean sound design and very consistent delivery between wearers. They feel better built and come with a carrying pouch and an extra audio cable.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are better headphones for mixing audio than the Sennheiser HD 820. The HD 800 S have a better-balanced sound that adheres closer to our target with much more consistent bass and treble between wears. They also have a more immersive sound, thanks to their open-back design. They're a bit more breathable, too, so your ears won't get as warm during longer listening sessions. On the other hand, the HD 820 have a slightly more polished build quality, although they are very close in design. Also, since they have closed-back ear cups, they leak a little less, prevent more ambient noise from seeping into your audio.
The HiFiMan Ananda are very close in performance to the Sennheiser HD 800 S. The Sennheiser have a better, more durable build quality, although not by much. They're lighter weight and more breathable. They deliver a slightly more open-sounding audio reproduction. On the other hand, the HiFiMan have a somewhat subdued top-end, which you might prefer. They also offer a slightly better value than the Sennheiser, but HiFiMan headphones can be prone to durability issues.
Test Results
The Sennheiser HD 800 S have a flat sound profile that more closely follows the SoundGuys.com Studio Curve than our own target. Given that this SoundGuys.com Curve was developed to cater to the needs of audio professionals, and these headphones have been coveted gear by audiophiles since their release roughly a decade ago, they're well-suited to studio and professional audio applications.
The frequency response consistency of these cans is impressive. While there are slight deviations in low-bass and high-mids, which can happen if you wear glasses or have thick hair, the rest of the range is very consistent. Once you achieve a good fit, you'll have consistent audio delivery. They're quite large, so you'll want to watch for gaps around your jaw, for example, if you have a smaller head.
These headphones have great bass target compliance. Although they lack low to mid-bass compared to our target curve, so mixes are light on thump and punch, they have a touch of extra high bass to help balance the response. Overall, they reproduce audio with warmth but not as much low-end rumble in tracks like Them Changes by Thundercat.
The mid-range target compliance of these headphones is outstanding. The response throughout the range is very even and flat, resulting in natural-sounding vocals and lead instruments. However, a minor dip in the high-mid slightly weakens these sounds. In songs like Arabesques No. 1 by Claude Debussy, the piano keys sound smooth and present towards the beginning of the piece. Yet, as the music ascends into a higher register, the notes become a touch more mellow and gentle.
Their treble target compliance is superb. The low-treble is quite flat but slightly underemphasized. As a result, vocals and instruments are a bit veiled, though because of their flat sound profile, they're not overwhelmed by other frequencies. Sibilants like the harmonics from cymbals still sound bright without coming across as shrill, given their slight exaggeration in the mid-treble.
The peaks and dips performance is very good. There are only a few minor peaks and dips, indicating a smooth and balanced sound signature. A handful of peaks in the low and mid-treble makes sibilants, like cymbals, sound relatively piercing, while the dips alternatingly dull these fast transient sounds. In the high-treble at the thresholds of human hearing, a sharp peak adds an exaggerated hiss and brilliance, though most audio doesn't occupy these ranges, and sensitivity in the high frequencies varies with people.
The headphones have impressive stereo mismatch performance. Their weighted amplitude is well-matched, as is the weighted phase mismatch, overall, besides a spike at the upper threshold of hearing. There's a small mismatch in the weighted frequency response, which tilts the stereo image very slightly to the right driver in the highest frequencies. That said, this can vary with different units, so yours may perform differently.
These have very good group delay performance. Low, bass frequencies playback sounding tight, for the most part. Mid-range and trebly sounds like piano and vocal harmonics come across as transparent.
These PRTF measurements indicate a fantastic amount of interaction with your pinna, lending your audio some of the qualities of an angled reference speaker. It's easy to make out where objects are panned in the stereo field and their distance, which adds depth and immersion.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S have remarkable harmonic distortion performance. At 94 dB/SPL and 104 dB/SPL, the frequencies tested exhibit low harmonic distortion and artifacts, ensuring a clean and pure signal.
The manufacturer states these headphones have an impedance of 300 ohms with a sensitivity of 102 dB, which is roughly what we measured. If you want to get the best performance from them or crank them to a high volume, you'll want to consider using an amp or DAC to help power the headphones.
These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.
The Sennheiser HD 800S are premium audiophile headphones, which shows in their design. The frame is made from a mix of high-grade plastic and metal, which create striking visual contrast. Since they have an open-back enclosure, the spacious ear cups have metal grilles to protect the drivers from damage. They're bulkier than other audiophile headphones like the HiFiMan Sundara 2018 or the Sennheiser HD 700, though.
These over-ears have a comfortable fit, thanks to their large, spacious ear cups and plush suede-like padding. They don't have a tight fit, but they're a bit heavy, although you can still wear them for long periods without feeling significant fatigue. If you're looking for even more comfortable open-back headphones, consider the Philips SHP9600.
These headphones aren't designed to be portable. They're big audiophile headphones that can't fold into a more compact format if you want to move them around. They also take up a lot of space, even if you leave them on your desk.
These cans don't come with a case. You can use the box they're packaged in as a case, but it's more than double the headphones' size. Remember that the pouch included in the box is for the cables and not the headphones. Look at the Focal Clear Mg or the semi-open Beyerdynamic T1 2nd Generation for open-back headphones that come with a case.
These headphones have excellent build quality. They're made of a mix of high-grade plastic blend and have a reinforced sturdy metal frame. The large ear cups are decently dense, and the padding materials feel high-end. However, the hinges/yokes are not the most durable, as the pin that keeps the joints of the ear cups in place can sometimes come loose. However, they feel more premium overall than competitors like the HiFiMan Arya.
These headphones have a fairly stable fit. If you like to bop your head to your music while at your desk, they can move around and change in positioning. However, if you're headbanging, the headphones will easily fall off.
- Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones
- 1/4" TRS cable
- Balanced XLR cable
- Carrying pouch
- USB memory drive
These cans are open-back headphones and aren't designed to block background noise, so their full-range noise isolation is awful. They let in ambient sound to help create a more immersive soundstage. If you're looking for audiophile headphones that can help reduce ambient sound, try closed-backs like the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO instead. All they do is slightly dampen highs, but you can hear everything basically the same with them on as when you take them off.
Besides the various other impracticalities like leakage issues that would arise from taking these open-backs out for a walk, on a flight, or to the office, their isolation simply performs badly in common scenarios. What little isolation they offer very slightly cuts high frequencies, leaving everything else untouched. As a result, you'll hear all the car traffic and your neighboring coworkers and plane passengers talking as if you weren't wearing anything over your ears.
These headphones are designed to leak audio, let you interact with your environment, and create a more immersive sound. Even at moderate volumes, leakage is audible. This isn't an issue if you're in a designated listening space, but if you're in a room with others, they'll hear your audio.
They have a simple 1/4" (6.35 mm) TRS audio cable and a balanced four-pin XLR cable. Models produced roughly from 2021 onwards include a balanced cable with a 4.4mm jack instead of the four-pin XLR.
These headphones can connect to PCs via analog. However, you'll need an adapter to fit your AUX port, and the headphones only passthrough audio since they don't have a mic. You may also need a headphone amp to drive them.
You can plug these headphones into your PlayStation controller's AUX port, provided you're using an adapter. However, you'll only receive audio, and you may even want to consider adding on an amp to help power the headphones.
You can use their analog cable to connect these headphones to your Xbox console's controller for audio support. However, an amp will help power the headphones and give you a better overall experience, which is somewhat impractical.
